Matter of the Estate of Fern L. Brown

MESCHKE, Justice.

[¶ 1] The American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association appeal from a judgment that construed Fern L. Brown’s will to have made a formula gift of over $450,000 to a group of nineteen persons that resulted in estate taxes of $173,467 and left nothing for the six residual charities. We reverse and remand with instructions.

[¶ 2] To write her will in 1992, Brown met with attorney Mark Scallon, who had not known her before. Brown told him that, after a modest gift to her church, she wanted to give the amount her estate could claim exempt under the unified credit for…